Last year when buying an infant car seat, I was informed enough to know that babies are required to be rear-facing in a car until they reach a minimum of 1 year old AND 20 pounds. Knowing that many infants reach 20 pounds and outgrow their infant seat (most have/had a weight limit of 22 pounds) before they're a year old, I opted for an infant seat with a 30-pound weight limit. This way, I reasoned, if my baby ended up being big I wouldn't have to buy a convertible seat (which can be rear- or forward-facing) to "get me through" until he got to a year old and could face forward. Of course, my kid turned out to be a peanut who'll be lucky to see 20 pounds by age 1, but I digress -- point is, I was prepared.
Fast-forward to this year. Even though he's nowhere near the weight limit on his infant seat, with John's first birthday approaching I figured it couldn't hurt to start researching a new seat. I was congratulating myself on being able to jump directly from a rear-facing-only infant carrier to a forward-facing-only toddler booster, without having to bother with a bulky, expensive convertible seat to bridge the gap. Go me.
Well, I've been schooled.
While scouring the internet for reviews and ratings on car seats, I came across this website: http://www.car-seat.org. It is basically a forum full of Child Passenger Safety Technicians who know a LOT about car seats. You don't have to be a member to post a question, but I haven't actually asked any -- just searching the archives has given me a ton of information. And among other things, I have learned that children are safer rear-facing for as long as possible (until they reach the weight/height limit for their seat), instead of turning around as soon as they hit the minimum of 1 year and 20 pounds. Specifically, in a head-on crash, a forward-facing child could break their neck. This forum is chock full of photos of 2, 3, 4-year-olds happily rear-facing in convertible car seats.
Needless to say, I am now shopping for a convertible car seat.
Maybe I am really ignorant, and this is common knowledge to most people... but I doubt it. I think most people just know 1 year/20 pounds, like I did. So I'm going to post some videos that I came across while further researching this topic. Maybe it will help someone else.
Okay, actually I'm going to link to a good article first, and THEN post the videos. ;) Here's the article: Rear-Facing - Unmatched Safety
The Importance of Rear-Facing: this video pretty much says it all. The crash test footage is particularly convincing.
This one is narrated by a guy whose 18-month-old grandson broke his neck while forward-facing in an accident.
This one is about the importance of keeping your kid in a 5-point harness for as long as possible (instead of a booster seat that uses your car's seatbelt). It's in memory of a little boy who died when his seatbelt failed.
And one more, about snowsuits/coats and car seats. Just because this is the right time of year.
Spread the word. This is important.